OT sort of | Arthritis Information

I have been thinking about all the posts on bad stuff from China.

I'm thinking that our government is giving away our country by allowing companies to manufacture in places like China and also, hiring in other countries large numbers of service people who have no idea what they are talking about, instead of jobs for deserving Americans.

The IPOD is made in China and I hope people dont buy it for that reason alone. Companies that are doing this are taking jobs away from our children and grandchildren.

I can see that it is possible that in the future our children and grandchildren will be on public aid and we will become a third world country. This is where we are headed. Working at Mcdonalds is going to be a top rated job in America someday and no one seems to have any concern about it.
It may cost us more money to at least try to buy american products now but you can save the future for your children and grandkids.

Even if you cant buy or afford a good American car you can buy a used toyota and the money will go back into our economy.

We go around like zombies buying whatever the commercials tell us to buy without giving it a thought. I cant believe we are going all the way to %&&***#@@* China to buy contaminated fish and medication.
We got to ask more questions when we go shopping and yes maybe even go without and when we do we are saving a little piece of America for our kids

Why buy all this crap just to go bankrupt anyway.
OK rant is over, I wont talk about it anymore. Wow, I feel better.

It really is a matter of choice. That said " Perception " is the main player here. For instance Toyotas are much higher Quality " Heard that from a lady at a party I was at. I asked her how she knows that. Her response. Everybody knows that. She has no clue about cars their parts or how they work. I told her that Ford surpassed Toyota on initial quality in the latest JD Powell survey. She looked stunned and then said. It's cooler to be in a Toyota. WOW.....

I totally agree with you. Our new global economy seems to benefit everyone around the world except the American worker. You know the saying that is used so often now, "Freedom Isn't Free"? I think we should be saying "Free Trade Isn't Free".

Exporting our jobs to India, Pakistan and the Phillipines is very aggressively marketed to American businesses. The very top tier of our society is reaping huge profits, and the American workers are getting squeezed out. Even our US government ships it's data management overseas. There are very few jobs that cannot be outsourced, and the trend is spreading throughout our economy, even to the medical field! Anyone remember quirky little Ross Perot warning us about the giant sucking sound?

The recent problem with contaminated pet food is a perfect example of what can happen when we purchase our food products from China. They do not have laws and procedures in place to protect us from a similar occurence in human consumables, and our own methods of inspection fall far short of protecting us from serious consequences. But our government dismisses any danger as minimal.

We are told that the ultimate result of this global economy will be lower consumer costs, and the creation of new jobs. But what they don't say is that any new jobs created will be minimum wage jobs. It is all just wrong, simply wrong.

AAAhhhhh. I'm still a foreign car person.........LOL Out of all the cars my family has owned, the foreign ones have beat the PANTS off the domestics time and time again. But maybe I'm just biased. I just bought a used toyota scion and LOVE it!! Gets over 30mg per gallon in the city! This was NOT a domestic vs Foreign car debate rather a perception debate. That said my family has not been very lucky with the Japanese cars. Nissan ( Sunroof fire ) Mitsubishi ( 4 transmissions and counting ) Honda Civic. Radio stopped playing ( not the fuse ) Honda can't figure out why and the gas door broke ( again ). Nissan Altima from my niece 3 sets of brakes 42,000 miles ( Nissan says normal ) . Don't know anything about the Scion other the it looks like an Ice Cube on wheels Butt ugly but thats just my 2 cents. Yep...and in Mexico the workers are constantly being told their jobs are
being sent to America or Canada. And in Canada a lot of the jobs are being
sent to America, especially information handling jobs (which Canadians hate
because our privacy is no longer protected because of the Patriot Act.) I
heard some statistics on this and they were surprisingly eqaul for all
countries involved, but I can't remember the source. All countries are
"outsourcing" their jobs and in the end all that does is make labour feel
insecure and willing to work for less. It's all part of eroding workers rights
and pay and eradciating the middle class. Anyone, no matter where they live,
would do well to buy local.

There really is no debate to be had on foreign versus American-made cars, because the automotive industry has changed so much in recent years, and cars we would traditionally think of as American-made have many of their parts manufactured overseas, and honestly, many foreign cars are primarily manufactured here. I think you just have to find a car that suits your own tastes and needs and budget.

If you are interested in J.D. Power & Assoc. ratings, here is a link which will help:

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/quality-ratings

Gimpy, I understand your concern about privacy issues with information management. I feel it is a huge national security issue for the US government and businesses to send information to foreign shores where it could more easily be obtained by individuals who wish to do us harm.

6t5frlane, I didnt intend it to be a foreign car versus domestic car debate but it is part of the whole subject.

There are just so many other products that we cant buy that are made in America. At least we could try to buy food and drugs from this country without having a problem. It's just going too too far.

We have to decide what to do about it individually if anything and I have decided to look for American made products first, even if it cost more. I will be investing in this country and not a foreign country.

Ah, Ross Perot started this whole mess.

I remember his 'pie charts' when he was running for Prez - and people falling for that simplistic nonsense. He wanted NAFTA.

It wasn't until after it passed that he said "oops" and the sucking motion. How much did he make from NAFTA?

I always thought he was the real 'devil' because his whole spiel reminded me of the politician in "The Dead Zone". The book people. NOT the movie or the TV series. The politics in the book eeriely echoed the whole thing.

Pip

PIP, Man do you need a history lesson. Remember the 1996 debate between AL Gore and Ross Perot. Perot was against NAFTA all the time. Gore accused him of making money if it did NOT pass. Actually looking back Prot was dead on on many issues. At the time many of us thought he was wacky but he probably was more right then wrong P.S. Hillhoney I would like to know what foreign cars are manufactured here. They might be assembled here but not made. Please let me know. Thanks This should clear things up on Ross Perot
I voted for him.
Check out his book.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1562827111/issues2000 org/

6t5frlane, here are some links that I think you will find helpful:

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/119995/article .html

http://www.moneyallocator.com/articles/american_foreign_cars .asp

http://www.toyota.com/about/usa/manufacturing/index.html

http://ohio.honda.com/ohio/facts.cfm

http://www.bmwusa.com/About/manufacturing.htm?dNav_loc=_root .manufacturing